A/N: The original characters of Alison and Miguel Castillo (the teenage children of Martin Castillo and Gina Calabrese-Castillo) belong to RedRose85. Thanks to her for letting me use them and I hope I've done them justice!
Miami Beach Senior High School, October 2006
"Come on Miguel, Mom and Dad don't have to know if you don't tell them! They'll be working on that investigation late tonight again, so I'll be back home way before they will! I promise! You won't get in trouble, it's all on me!" Alison Castillo begged her older brother as they walked through the hallways of Miami Beach Senior High School.
Sixteen year old Miguel Castillo shook his head. "No way! Alison, you're barely fourteen years old! You have no idea what goes on at those parties. And you really think Dad won't be all over me if he finds out?"
Ali rolled her eyes. "Oh, like you know what goes on those parties? A wild night for you involves your violin and a math textbook. This is your junior year of high school when are you going to loosen up and actually have some fun?" She paused at the door to her chemistry class and poked her brother in the chest with her finger angrily, ignoring the look of hurt on his face. "This isn't over yet!"
Miguel sighed. It wasn't always easy being an older brother to Ali. Now that she was in high school she wanted to do nothing but socialize and party, but he wasn't about to see her get in trouble. She was just a kid! But at the same time it sometimes felt unfair that his parents put so much responsibility on him. His stoic personality stood in stark contrast to his sister who wore her heart on her sleeve. Adults always remarked that Ali was so fun and outgoing, but no one would ever, ever say that about him. Sure, they'd say he was quiet, serious, focused, and smart. "Miguel, you are just like your father," they'd say with admiration. And as much as he looked up to his father, a well-respected captain in the Miami Police Department Organized Crime Bureau, sometimes he wished he were more like his sister. Being so damn sensible all the time made life lonely.
Nervously, he glanced at his watch. In just two minutes the fifth period bell would ring, and he hated being late. Breathlessly, he pulled open the door to his calculus class and saw his teacher, Mrs. Connolly look up at him from her desk at the front of the room. "Miguel, can I talk to you for a minute?"
His heart started to pound and he hoped he wasn't sweating. What did she want to talk about? He immediately thought back to the test he took the day before, he thought he had done well. Math had always been his strongest subject which was why he had been a year ahead of the rest of his classmates. He took a deep breath and tried to look relaxed. "Sure, Mrs. C!"
As he set down his backpack, he noticed an unfamiliar girl standing beside his teacher's desk. Immediately he was struck by her crystal-clear blue eyes. She wasn't tall, maybe five foot three at the most, and had wavy sandy blonde hair and a few freckles on her nose. She also had a smile that lit up her whole face.
"Sophia, I'd like you to meet Miguel Castillo. He's a junior like you and one of my best students. Miguel, this is Sophia Menton. She's new to our school and I would really appreciate it if you could spend some time with her and help her get caught up in our class. I figured I could count on you."
"Sure!" Miguel realized right away with embarrassment that perhaps he sounded a bit overly enthusiastic.
"Oh fantastic! Thank you, Miguel. Why don't you two find your seats and you can get acquainted right after class."
Miguel tried hard to concentrate during class, but he kept trying to steal glances at Sophia. He had always been too shy to ask a girl out, and was often so busy with school and orchestra that he didn't give a lot of thought to dating. But there was something about her that he found himself drawn to. The bell finally rang, he was happy to see Sophia's bright smile waiting for him just outside the classroom door.
"Hi!" She greeted him. "Miguel, right? That's a cool name! We just moved here from Washington DC. Wow, it's hot here for October! But I sure won't miss the snow in the winter!" He could tell right away that she was the talkative type, which he appreciated since it took the pressure off him to carry the conversation.
"It stays warm here pretty much year round, sometimes a little too hot," he replied. "So, um, we have a math test on Tuesday, if you want to meet in the library after school we can go over the study guide?"
"OK!" her face spread into a bright grin. "Thanks Miguel, for offering to help. Calculus was my best subject at my old school but you guys are a little ahead of us."
"No problem," he answered, once again trying not to seem overly enthusiastic. "Where's your next class?"
"The music room, I play the clarinet."
"Hey, me too!" he responded excitedly, then tried to contain himself. "I mean, I have the same class but I play the violin."
"Great! You can help me find the class. This place is like a maze!"
"Where did you move from?"
"Washington DC. My dad just started working out here."
Finally, they arrived at the door of the music room. "I guess since we have our last class together we can just walk to the library together after the bell. I mean, if you want…" Miguel said shyly.
She patted him on the back enthusiastically. "It's a date!"
